Middle East

Sudanese protesters defy curfew, day after military coup

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

This Wednesday, April 10, 2019 satellite image shows Khartoum, Sudan during massive protests. Sudan’s military overthrew President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday amid increasingly bloody protests over his repressive 30-year rule and the deteriorating economy. But pro-democracy demonstrators were left angry and disappointed when the defense minister announced the armed forces will govern for the next two years.(Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Sudanese pro-democracy protesters who spent four months on the streets rallying against the country's autocratic president are now defying the military leaders who overthrew Omar al-Bashir the day before.

Thousands kept up their sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum overnight and into Friday morning despite a curfew imposed by the army after it arrested al-Bashir.

Organizers of the demonstration say they'll keep up the campaign. It wasn't clear if the army would move against the protesters.

The mood in the crowd appeared festive, with protesters playing music and chanting, "Down again" — a reference Defense Minister Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf.

Ouf, on a U.S. sanctions list for Darfur genocide, was sworn in as head of the new military transitional council that has taken charge for the next two years.